Exodus 19

19:1 In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.
19:2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
19:3 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 19:4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
19:7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.
19:8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.
19:9 And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.
19:10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, 19:11 And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
19:12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: 19:13 There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.
19:14 And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.
19:15 And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.
19:16 And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
19:17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
19:18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
19:19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
19:20 And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
19:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish.
19:22 And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.
19:23 And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.
19:24 And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the LORD, lest he break forth upon them.
19:25 So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.

Overview:
The people come to Sinai, God's message to them, and their
answer. (1-8) The people directed to prepare to hear the Law.(9-15) The presence of GodOnSinai. (16-25)

1-8Moses was called up the mountain, and was employed as theMessenger of this Covenant. The Maker and first Mover of theCovenant, is God himself. This blessed charter was granted out
of God's own free Grace. The Covenant here mentioned was the
national Covenant, By which the Israelites were a people under
the government of Jehovah. It was a Type of the new Covenant
made with true believers in ChristJesus; but, like other types,
it was only a Shadow of good things to come. As a nation they
broke this Covenant; therefore the Lord declared that he would
make a new Covenant with Israel, Writing his Law, not uponTables of Stone, but in their hearts, Jer 31:33; Heb 8:7-10.
The Covenant spoken of in these places as ready to vanish away,
is the national Covenant with Israel, which they forfeited By
their sins. Unless we carefully attend to this, we shall fall
into mistakes while reading the Old Testament. We must not
suppose that the nation of the Jews were under the Covenant ofWorks, which knows nothing of Repentance, Faith in a Mediator,
forgiveness of sins, or Grace; nor yet that the whole nation ofIsrael bore the character, and possessed the privileges of true
believers, as being actually sharers in the Covenant of Grace.
They were all under a Dispensation of Mercy; they had outward
privileges and advantages for Salvation; but, like professing
Christians, most rested therein, and went No further. Israel
consented to the conditions. They answered as one Man, All that
the Lord hath spoken we will do. Oh that there had been such aHeart in them! Moses, as a Mediator, returned the words of the
people to God. Thus Christ, the Mediator, as a Prophet, revealsGod's will to us, his precepts and promises; and then, as aPriest, offers up to God our spiritual sacrifices, not only ofPrayer and praise, but of devout affections, and pious
resolutions, the work of his own Spirit in us.

9-15 The solemn manner in which the Law was delivered, was to
impress the people with a right sense of the Divine majesty.
Also to convince them of their own guilt, and to show that they
could not stand in Judgment before GodBy their own obedience.
In the Law, the sinner discovers what he ought to be, what he
is, and what he wants. There he learns the nature, necessity,
and Glory of Redemption, and of being made holy. Having been
taught to flee to Christ, and to Love him, the Law is the rule
of his obedience and Faith.

16-25 Never was there such a sermon preached, before or since,
as this which was preached to the Church in the Wilderness. It
might be supposed that the terrors would have checked
presumption and curiosity in the people; but the hard Heart of
an unawakened sinner can trifle with the most terrible
threatenings and judgments. In drawing near to God, we must
never forget his Holiness and greatness, nor our own meanness
and pollution. We cannot stand in Judgment before him according
to his righteous Law. The convinced transgressor asks, What must
I do to be saved? and he hears the voice, Believe in the LordJesusChrist, and thou shalt be saved. The Holy Ghost, who made
the Law to convince of Sin, now takes of the things of Christ,
and shows them to us. In the Gospel we read, Christ hath
redeemed us from the Curse of the Law, being made a Curse for
us. We have Redemption through his Blood, even the forgiveness
of sins. Through him we are justified from all things, from
which we could not be justified By the Law of Moses. But the
Divine Law is binding as a rule of Life. The Son of God came
down from Heaven, and suffered poverty, shame, Agony, and Death,
not only to redeem us from its Curse, but to bind us more
closely to keep its commands.